Born Again! What Now?

Introduction:

We often hear people talk about being “born again.” Even secular writers and singers will use this phrase, usually only to describe some sort of life-changing experience or epiphany. But the question we want to address is, what did Jesus mean, when He told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.”?

What does it mean when the Bible
talks about being Born Again? Is it just religious talk for becoming a
church-goer? There was no church, as we know it, in Jesus’ time, so it can’t
have been as simple as that. Nicodemus was already a staunch, important member
of his synagogue.

How
does a Person become Born Again?

In John 3:3,
Jesus told Nicodemus that unless he was born again, he could not see the
kingdom of God, let alone enter it…and he addressed both ideas…seeing the
Kingdom of God, and entering it. Nicodemus had no idea what Jesus meant. Jesus
explained that a person would receive eternal life by believing in the Son of
God.

In verse 14, He reminded Nicodemus of the mass
invasion of venomous snakes threatening Israel, as a judgement for sin, under
Moses. God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent (bronze is a symbol for
judgment, in the Bible) and to hang it on a pole, up high, so everyone could
see it. If a bitten person looked to that bronze serpent on the pole as God’s
solution for the snakebite, they would not die.

In verse 15, Jesus concludes that, in the same manner,
people who look to HIM as God’s solution for sin, will not die…that “Whosever
believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” He reiterated
that truth in verse 16, saying that This was God’s Love being offered to the
whole world. He also pointed out (in verse 18) that whoever chooses to not
believe is already condemned, not “waiting for condemnation,” and that the
issue is the unbelief. Remember, the folk who were bitten by the venomous
snakes were already bitten…and without help they would die. Those who looked to
God’s answer to sin, lived…those who rejected Him died.

In verse 36, the writer concludes that, “He that
believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Does that really answer the question of “how”
a person can be born again? Actually, yes, it does, but it is spelled out more
clearly in John chapter one. John
1:11-13 says that “He (Jesus) came unto His own and His own received Him
not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of
God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Now, that passage will bear some examination:

Who were these people, called “His own”, who rejected Him? It was the nation of Israel. As a Nation, they emphatically rejected Him, at Jerusalem. Were there individuals who received Him as their Savior and their King? And even some Gentiles who recognized Him as the Promised Messiah of Israel, and who willingly chose Him as their own master and Savior? Yes, of course there were! And those few who received Him are the ones to whom this passage refers! So what does it say about them?

It says “to them gave He power to become the Sons of God”

The word “power”, in this passage, is translated from the Greek word “exousia”, meaning “authority.” Those who received him were given the authority to do something, much as one who has become a member of an organization has the authority to enter into a secure building where they are assigned to work. But in this case, the thing they are authorized to do is to “become” a “Son of God.”

The word “become,” in this passage, is translated from the Greek word “genesthai.” That word, even in modern Greek, means “to be born!” They were given the authority to be born again!

And, interestingly, the word translated “sons” is the Greek word “tekna”, which literally means “born ones”…we would say “offspring”. But the Scottish language has a word, “bairns,” which is an exact translation of this word. It literally means “born ones.” There is a different Greek word that means “sons,” in the sense of “heirs.” We will talk about that one a different time.

“To them that believe on His Name.”

These people are listed as those who believe on His Name. They have placed their trust in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ for their salvation, just as those people who were snake-bitten placed their trust in the power of God and looked to that bronze snake on the pole.

Finally, he says that those “born ones” were not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Not born of blood: this is not a flesh-thing…it is a spirit thing. Your “blood-line” is not in question. Your spiritual father is in question. At one point (John 8:44) Jesus pointed out that his antagonists, the unbelieving Jews, were not children of God, but of Satan. They were behaving like their spiritual father.

Not born of the will of the flesh: this is not the result of two people cohabiting… no physical interaction affects this. And there is nothing “accidental” about it.

Not born of the will of man: This is not even human in origin. It is from God.

So the idea of being “born again,” as Jesus expressed
it to Nicodemus, is entirely the result of God offering eternal life on the
basis of faith in Jesus Christ, to those who receive Him as their Savior. It is
completely personal, in the sense that it is not a “group activity.” It is
addressed on a one-by-one basis, as each person sees himself or herself as a
lost sinner, needing a Savior. The people in Jerusalem, in Jesus’ time, were
indignant that He saw them as sinners. They saw themselves as “the best of the
best,” and just about as perfect as people could be. And, honestly, Nicodemus
was right up there with the best of them…but Jesus told him that unless he
became born again, he was lost.

What
is the Result of Being Born Again?

We already saw that believing in Jesus as one’s Savior
is how
one becomes born again. But what is the result?

John
5:24 makes a promise, with no disclaimers, no qualifiers,
no “ifs, ands or buts.” Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation;
but is
passed from death into life.”

Notice that He lists two conditions to the promise:

Hear
His Word: You do have to hear the good news that Jesus died as full payment for
your sins. No one just comes up and shakes His hand and says, “Hey, I’d like to
join your group!” That is effectively what Nicodemus seemed to be attempting to
do. But Jesus told him that there was something that had to happen, first.

Believe
on the One who sent Jesus. Ultimately, we either place our trust in God’s
solution for sin, or we come up with some sort of “do-it-yourself” plan of
salvation. God’s solution is the preaching of the Cross: in 1st Corinthians 1:17, 18 we
are told that the preaching of the cross is how God saves people.
They either believe the message or they don’t. So, if we decide to “circumvent
the cross,” and find some other way to approach God, then we are not believing
on Him who sent Jesus to the Cross…we are believing that our own wisdom exceeds
the wisdom of God.

So, if those two conditions are met: we have heard the
message, and we have chosen to believe God, rather than believing some other
source, then what does the promise hold for us? The Promise has three clauses:

We
have
eternal life…that is present tense. Notice that it does not say, “…he that
heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me will someday have eternal
life…” It says “…hath everlasting life!” Now! Not “someday, if you are good.”

We
will not ever be condemned by God. This is future tense: He does not
say, “…is not condemned now, but, brother, he’d better stay
outta trouble!” He says “…shall not come into condemnation!”
There are no disclaimers, no exceptions, and no escape clauses!

Finally,
he says that we have passed from death unto life. In English, this sounds as
though it is a past participle, meaning that something “has happened at some
time in the past.” But, in fact, it is perfect tense, meaning that it “happened
at some time in the past with permanent results for the future.” In
contemporary language, it means “It’s a done deal!” There is no way of becoming
“un-born-again!”

These are tremendous promises. There are some who try
to short-circuit the promises, saying, “Well, you know, if you continue in sin,
God will still reject you!” Or, they
might say, “Well, you are saved by faith, but you are kept by works!” (I have heard both of these statements.) To
say such a thing makes Jesus a liar! He did not offer Himself an
escape clause, or any way for Himself to renege on His promise. He made a solid
promise, and all He asks us to do is step into the promise,
by faith.

And
the results are eternal.

What
Now?

What do we do once we havebeen born again? Is that
all there is to it? “I’m saved, so now I can kick back and wait for Jesus to come?”
What does God say that He wants us to do?

Turn to 1st
Peter 1:23. We are going to read from verse 23 through into chapter 2,
verse 5.

He says that we have been born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which lives and
abides forever. Do you remember someone referred to as the Word of God? A Person,
called the Word of God? If you remember John
1:1, we read there that “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God and the Word was God….” and then, in verse 14 of the same
chapter, we saw that “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of
Grace and truth.” So, Jesus is the Word, by whom we have
been born again. We heard the Word, received and believed the Word, and
as a result, we have been born again, by the Word of God, who is living
and abiding forever.

And what does He say to do about that? Read on
into chapter 2: he says for us to lay aside our petty gripes, and politics, and
hypocrisies, and (see verse two) “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk
of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.”

Feed
on the Word!

God wants to feed his babies! He insists that they be
fed on His Word! That is why we only teach from His Word, here at True Hope
Christian Fellowship. His Word is “sheep food,” and we are called to feed the
flock of God! But every believer is called to deliberately, and personally
go to God’s Word to be fed!

If you don’t have a Bible, we will get you
one!

If you can’t read, then you can go where
the Word will be read publicly.

If you have trouble understanding, then
you must go to where someone will teach you at your own pace, and explain at a
level where you can completely grasp it, and continue to repeat it until it
sticks!

You, personally, are called to feed on
God’s Word. Your teachers are called to feed you, but you have a personal calling
to feed on God’s Word…and why? So that you can grow thereby…that you
will grow, spiritually, as a direct result of feeding on God’s Word. That you
will become stronger, and healthier, and able to feed others, as well.

What
are the Long Range Results?

Look just a bit further: verses 3-5 point out the
long-range results.

Since we have tasted of the Lord’s Grace, and
have approached Him as the “Living Stone” on which all of God’s kingdom is
built, we have also become the “living stones” of His temple, throughout the
whole world. He indwells us, individually, in the person of the Holy Spirit.

But as a group, He says that we are the
Temple of God (1st
Corinthians 3:16), and, here in this passage, He says that we are “a
spiritual house, and a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ!”

Now, if that sounds mysterious to you, then I’d say
that you need to feed on God’s Word until you understand not only what it
means, but what your part in that “spiritual house and holy priesthood” really
is. What does it mean when it says that you are a priest? What does it mean when
it says that you are to offer up spiritual sacrifices? You need to learn these
things.

But, right now, the only question you have to ask
yourself, is “Have I been born again? Have I really
trusted Jesus as my savior? Have I placed my trust in His blood sacrifice as
full payment for my sins?”

Then, if you are sure that your trust is
in His finished work at the Cross, and not your own works, then the next step
is to feed on His word. He commands us to desire the sincere milk of the Word.
We will try to whet your appetite, here, but the best way to get hungry for
God’s Word is to actually feed on it! The more you eat, the stronger your
appetite will grow.

Conclusions
and Decisions

When you first heard the news that Jesus died to pay
for your sins, you had a decision to make: “Will I believe in Him, trusting in
His finished work at the Cross, or not?”

Having made the decision to receive Him as your
Savior, you now have a decision to make, every day: “Will I set aside
everything else, and deliberately spend time reading God’s Word, so that I can
grow…or not?

The results of both decisions have eternal results. The
decision to believe the Gospel, and receive Jesus as your Savior resulted in
your being born again, eternally secure as God’s Child.

The decision to feed on God’s Word, resulting in the growth
you experience here, will allow you to serve, and do the things God has called
you to do, here on earth.

And that will result in eternal rewards.

The decision is yours, every day. What will you do?

Lord
Jesus, stir our hearts to desire to feed upon your written Word, so that we can
be molded into the likeness of the Living Word. Raise us up to be the men and
women of God that you have called us to be.

About Chet Bishop:

Chet Bishop is one of the pastors at True Hope Christian Fellowship Church, in Forest Grove, Oregon. He has been a believer since 1973, and has been teaching actively since 1976. He supports himself and his family by working as a welding technician/instructor, and by making violin-family instruments.